In a land area of around 178,341 square kilometers, the diocese covers the divisions of Rawalpindi, Sargodha, the whole Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the part of the disputed Kashmir region under Pakistani control and federally administered tribal areas and the Northern Areas and Gujrat district of Gujranwala division.

Islamabad-Rawalpindi diocese covers a big region with Taliban presence in the northwest. Still, this northern province continues to be a major tourist attraction due to several scenic valleys and mountainous regions. The diocese is strategically placed because of Islamabad being the seat of the government.

Language

There are around 26 languages, out of country's 69 languages, spoken in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The principal language is Pushto while Hindko is the second most commonly spoken indigenous language with many dialects. Urdu and Punjabi speaking migrants account for only two per cent of the households.

History

Taxila, near Islamabad, is well-known for being the center of Buddhism as well as the centre for learning and culture. The Peshawar valley was the hub of Gandhara art. Its sculptures blended classic Greek influences and local traditions to depict events in Buddha's life.

According to early Christian legend, the city was visited by the Apostle St. Thomas during 52 A.D. Pope Benedict feels the area St. Thomas evangelized was "western India" corresponding roughly to today's Pakistan. Christians unofficially visit the shrine of St. Thomas in the ruins of Taxila.

According to some other historians, it was St. Bartholomew who started the evangelization of these regions. In the last century, chaplains of the British army established Catholic communities in Rawalpindi and Peshawar. St. Michael's Church, the first Catholic Church in Peshawar, was consecrated in 1851 and used by Irish soldiers. A whole class of people, Anglo Indians, resulted from the interaction of mostly Irish Catholic men and local women during British rule.

The foundation stone of St. John's Church was laid on March 23, 1852 and the building was completed in 1860. An Anglican Church was one of the first grand buildings to be raised in a cantonment. Here protestant army officers and leading civil officials came to pray. Churches in a cantonment or hill station confirmed British identity in and the conquest of India.

The first entry in the church's record book is dated March 3, 1852. The first baptism took place on May 27, 1855. (Source: "From Kashmir to Kabul" by Omar Khan).

The Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi was originally erected in 1887, as the Apostolic Prefecture of Kafiristan and Kashmir. The prefecture was erected from the Diocese of Lahore. In 1947, the Apostolic prefecture was elevated to a full diocese, and renamed the diocese of Rawalpindi.

In 1952, Kashmir was lost to the diocese to create the Apostolic Prefecture of Kashmir and Jammu. In 1979, the name was changed to the Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi.

Climate

The climate can be extreme with intensely hot summers to freezing cold winters. The northern zone is cold and snowy in winters with heavy rainfall and pleasant summers. Its snow-capped peaks and lush green valleys of unusual beauty attract tourists from far and wide to north. Peshawar basin, however, is hot in summer and cold in winter. It has moderate rainfall. The southern zone is arid with hot summers and relatively cold winters and scantly rainfall.

Economy

Per capita income in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the third largest province in Pakistan, is 30 percent lower than the country's average per capita income. It is around US$400 and for federally administered tribal areas sill lower i.e. US$300.

Culture

In spite of tough and rigid society, the Pathans have heavy and insistent drum dance in which dancers, always male, move with uniform rhythms and steps. They dance alternatively in circles and columns, holding a sword or a gun or a handkerchief in their hands and mix the crude sounds of firing with the rhythms of drums and flutes.